All Hallows' Eve
by chancyandjumbled
Summary: His Birthday did make a little sense, after all. My version of how Jess and Rory started dating after the Dance Marathon.
1. Chapter 1

**All Hallows' Eve**

This story picks up after the Dance Marathon, but rather than implicitly getting together after the event at the bridge, Jess and Rory have not discussed the break up yet. Dean breaks up with Rory and there is no Jess & Rory meeting afterwards. Based on the timeline of Season 3, I'm going to guess that the Marathon takes place in early or mid-October. Consequently, this story takes place October 30th-October 31st, which still works with the Jess/Rory Thanksgiving three weeks later. The OS felt a little anti-climatic, so I wanted to see Jess and Rory have the conversation about getting together. Feedback is always appreciated-enjoy!

Chapter 1

 _Lorelai and Rory are driving through the streets of Stars Hollow on their way back from Friday Night Dinner around 7:30 p.m._

The two Gilmore women drive in silence, aside from the hum of the Jeep's engine. Lorelai glances over at Rory who stares blankly at the dashboard ahead of her.

"I never thought I would say this," Lorelai remarks, breaking the silence, "but thank God for the 700 Club." Rory is too lost in her own thoughts to acknowledge her mother's statement.

"I mean, if it weren't for the good, divine folks at the 700 Club, we wouldn't have been able to skedaddle out of the Grandparents' so early. "I just love," she snorts, "that Emily and Richard put on the evangelist caps for one night of the year to attend a benefit dinner and pretend they weren't rooting for Judas."

"Uh huh," Rory mutters, eyes still fixed straight ahead.

"It's still pretty early, hun, want to stop for pie at Luke's?" Lorelai asks, fully aware that her daughter has been avoiding Luke's for the past two weeks. The mentioning of the diner seems to finally evoke a response from Rory.

"No! I mean, I'm not really in the mood for pie. We had apple turnovers at dinner. I'm really kind of tired, anyways, and…"

"Kid, you've gotta stop running from whatever you're running from," Lorelai interrupts as she slowly pulls the Jeep into a parallel spot near the Gazebo. "Or should I say _whoever_."

"I know," Rory says plainly. She folds her arms across her chest and stares out the windshield. It had been thirteen days since the seismic Dance Marathon. She thought her feelings towards Jess had been clear, as she hadn't corrected Dean in any of his assertions that she in fact was "into Jess." Since the day he arrived in Stars Hollow, nothing about them had been platonic: the way they looked at each other, spoke to each other- heck- they had kissed four months ago… what was Jess waiting on? Or did he just enjoy the cat and mouse aspect of their courtship, but had no interest in being her actual boyfriend? Rory felt anxiety rise up in her stomach and spread across her chest and up her spine.

Lorelai continues, "Don't get me wrong, I am queen of conflict avoidance and have forced us to skip out on Luke's numerous times because we were in a fight. But I don't want you to handle things like me, running away from your problems." She pauses. "It means less pie and less convincing Kirk that Cesar is trying to slowly poison him by injecting small doses of arsenic into his food," Lorelai adds the last line lightly.

"You're right," Rory replies, "I'm officially being pathetic. If he wanted to be together, he would have talked to me by now. For all I know, everything that happened at the Dance Marathon was for nothing."

"Sweets, I hate to ever, _ever_ , side with teenage Stephen Blumberg, but..."

"Who?"

"You know, the guy who stole millions of dollars of rare books from museums!" Lorelai replies animatedly.

"You mean the creepy "Book Bandit" guy? With the hair and the crazy eye thing? Jess only took one of my books _once_. And it was cute." Rory says sheepishly.

"Well, the point is, I don't want to cut him any slack, but you have to admit...you haven't exactly been _around_ lately. You've avoided any spot in Stars Hollow that he could possibly be at and abstained from your usual bus stop because he parks his car near it. The guy is probably terrified and has no clue what is going through your head after the break up. For all he knows, you and Dean might have made up afterwards."

"Oh, come on! Dean clearly broke up with me in front of him. And Miss Patty charged $5 for people to tour the dance studio and "Relive the Golden Days of Rory and Dean!" There was a banner and everything! If Jess didn't notice, well, then, I don't know."

Lorelai places a hand on Rory's shoulder and gives it squeeze. "Talk to him, hun. Clear the air. If he still doesn't do anything after that, then move on."

"Okay," Rory exhales.

"Okay," Lorelai mirrors her daughter's exasperation. "Pie?" she asks, nodding her head in the direction of the diner. "For all we know, James Dean isn't even working tonight."

"Let's get this over with," Rory replies nervously, opening the door and stepping out of the jeep. She straightens her jean jacket and smooths the fabric of her light pink dress. As the two women approach Luke's, Rory carefully surveys the diner through the window and internally concludes that there is no Jess in sight. She looks to her mother with a small smile before opening the door to Luke's.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Hey Kirk, how's the turkey burger? Tasting a little _different this evening_?" Lorelai whispers the second half of her sentence to an alarmed Kirk as the girls walk into the diner. She even winks.

"No.. should it?!" Kirk asks in his usual tone of fear and hyperbole.

"I would just be very careful this evening. Maybe have your mom monitor you while you sleep...look for signs of _foaming_ _of the mouth_ …" Although Lorelai whispers the tail end of her sentence, Luke overhears the exchange.

"Kirk, what's wrong with my food now? If you don't like it, there are dozens of other places you can go to for dinner and cheat some other lucky restaurant establishment out of an actual tip." Luke hovers over Kirk with his hands on his hips, looking from Kirk back to the Gilmore Girls who are slowly making their way to the barstools.

"No, Luke, it's fine!" Kirk pauses then shouts towards the kitchen, "My food is great, Caesar! No complaints here, no sir!" He scarfs down his burger in two bites and lets out a gagging sound as he works to chew the food in his mouth. Luke huffs and returns behind the counter to take Lorelai and Rory's order.

"Feeling the bar tonight, ladies?" Luke asks while refilling the coffee pot.

"Yes, we may even perform our coveted mother-daughter bar…" Lorelai starts.

"Don't even bother finishing that. Coffee?" he asks while filling up two large, green mugs.

"And pie!" Lorelai insists. "Cherry?"

"Coming right up," the diner owner mumbles before walking to the other side of counter to retrieve two pieces of cherry pie for the girls.

Rory taps on her mother's shoulder and points outside the diner, where a pitiful Kirk is hunched over throwing up outside the door of Luke's. They both begin to giggle, which quickly evolves into roaring laughter. Luke places the pie in front of the laughing women. He immediately spots Kirk's retching body outside.

"Oh geez, Kirk. Not again." Luke retrieves a bucket and an old rag from under the counter and makes his way outside.

"This is golden, absolute gold." Lorelai exclaims happily. The two girls chat about the odds that Taylor might issue a health code violation as they eat their pie and slirp their coffees.

"I think it's safe to say that Kirk, if he were a nineteen-year-old female, would always be the girl that cries and throws up at the party," Rory laughs.

"No truer words have been said," Lorelai agrees before the sound of heavy footsteps comes from the staircase behind the counter.

"Luke!" a familiar, male voice booms through the diner. "Luke!" he shouts again before abruptly stopping at the foot of the stairs, looking surprised at the two customers currently occupying the barstools in front of him. Jess looks from Lorelai to Rory, and holds the latter's gaze for a moment. He doesn't look angry, nor happy, to see her; he is unreadable as usual. He smirks before looking down at the floor and quickly makes his way towards the front door.

"Luke," Jess states impatiently as he opens the door, "have you seen my wallet anywhere? I have to get to work."

"Uh, Jess, can't you see I'm a little busy here," Luke replies crouched on his knees rinsing off the pavement.

Kirk is laying in the fetal position by the curb. He raises his head a couple of inches off the ground to shout at Jess "Don't eat the food… whatever you do… do not eat…."

Rory and Lorelai begin to rumble with laughter again from inside Luke's. Jess turns half way around to where only one side of his face is towards girls, his lips turned up in an amused smile. He closes the door and begins to search frantically under tables and chairs in pursuit of his wallet. After three minutes of searching, he mutters "whatever" under his breath before walking out the door in the direction of his car.

"Interesting," Lorelai remarks, looking over at Rory.

"Very," she agrees. Rory twists around on her stool towards the counter once more, where her eyes land on a black wallet wedged between the wall and the coffee machine.

She slowly rises, walks behind the counter, and picks it up. Flipping it open, she is met with the smirking face of the Artful Dodger on his I.D., which reads: "Jess Mariano, Brown Eyes, 5'10, DOB: 10/31/1983." She mentally notes his birthday before shutting his wallet. Before she knows what she's doing, she jogs out of the diner and staggers around a once again puking Kirk. Jess is poised in front of his car, manually unlocking it with some difficulty. Rory begins to jog faster.

Jess looks up at the young woman who is running towards him in confusion. She slows to a walk and stands three feet back from him.

"I found your wallet," she says softly as she works to regulate her breathing. She moves closer and extends her arm towards him.

Jess looks at it, his eyes round. "Oh," he replies. "Thanks," his voice cracks slightly as he pushes the leather wallet into his back pocket of his black pants. They stand awkwardly for a moment. Jess pushes the sleeves of his dark green long-sleeved t-shirt up to his elbows for no apparent reason. He fiddles with his car keys.

"It was by the coffee machine…"

"Right, I was uh, filling up some cups..."

"I saw it right as you walked out…" they both seem to say all at once on top of one another, nervously.

"You have work now? This late?" Rory inquires to break the silence again.

"Yeah. I've had a lot of spare time lately...not much to do the past couple of weeks. I'm driving Luke crazy. Might as well try and make a few bucks." Jess states plainly.

"True. I mean, yeah, I haven't been up to anything either."

"Yeah?" Jess asks, his words pressing for more explanation. Was Dean in the picture or not? Why had she even bothered to bring his wallet to him? He didn't like feeling like _this_ , feeling unsure and vulnerable. For the first time, he holds eye contact with her in wait of her reply.

"Yes. I mean, I have more free time now. A lot more. Horrific, public break ups will do that to a girl." She pauses. "I usually just study, which is probably good for me anyways." she rambles. _There_ , Rory thinks to herself, _now you know_. Jess looks at her intently, contemplating. His expression changes.

"You've always been hooked on phonics, teach" he says, his voice softening.

"I actually prefer 'Oh Captain, my Captain,'" she teases. Jess had once admitted to her during one of their conversations- the night that he had brought her a "care package from Luke"- that he had seen the _Dead Poets Society_ too many times than he cared to admit.

"You're gonna bring that up forever, aren't you?" he asks, taking a step towards Rory. Her face begins to feel hot. She looks at her shoes.

"Only until it stops being funny," she looks up into his eyes again, "Or you agree to dress up in a private school uniform. One of the two."

He chuckles. "Can I borrow yours?"

"If it fits."

They hold eye contact for a few lingering moments and break into nervous laughter together.

"I have to get to work," Jess gestures behind him to his car.

"Okay," she says, slightly disappointed.

"Maybe I could call you?" he asks, his voice a little higher and shakier than usual.

"Yeah," Rory smiles. "I would like that."

Jess returns the smile in his own way and turns to get into his car. Rory walks back towards the diner to rejoin her mother as the sound of Kirk dry heaving echos in the town square.

 **It doesn't end here! Next chapter Rory comes up with a plan**


	3. Chapter 3

I apologize it took me so long to update. Working on Chapter 4 now!

Chapter 3

"Well, well, well…" Lorelai exclaims as Rory reenters the diner.

"What?" Rory replies self-consciously and turning pink. She nervously pushes her hair behind her ears as she sits down. "It was nothing. He forgot his wallet, and I brought it out there!"

"And?" her mother demands, eyes widening.

"And, nothing. I still have no clue where his head's at. He said he'd 'call me.' That's it."

"Well at least he's losing wallets instead of stealing them? Gotta give the guy some points for that!" Rory narrows her eyes at her mother's remark and takes a long drink from her mug of coffee. "Sweets, if he has any ounce of intelligence in that gelled-head of his, he'll call you. Give it time, he isn't Dean. It's going to be an adjustment."

Rory sighs and the girls turn to look at Luke finally returning inside the diner and resuming his place behind the counter. He mutters to himself angrily about Kirk and something about vomit and Taylor's doormat. Just then Lorelai's cellphone rings and Luke points towards the diner's door without even looking up.

"Who the hell is calling me this late?" she says out loud. "Hello?" Lorelai answers as she walks outside.

Rory contemplates her next move, but ultimately curiosity wins out. Luke didn't seem to know about what had been growing between her and Jess the past year, so her question shouldn't seem too suspicious.

"Hey Luke?" She notices that he's wrestling with what appears to be a paper mache pumpkin. Luke pauses what he's doing and looks up at the sound of Rory's voice.

"Yeah?"

Rory laughs, "Luke are those Halloween decorations? In the diner?"

"Well, yeah. Taylor always suckers me into decorating my truck and using it for the fruity Halloween thing they have in the square. I'm apparently the only person in the whole damn town with a pickup truck And every year, small children dressed like the grim reaper and Christina Spears come by and crawl around in the back using their grubby hands to pick up tootsie rolls.

"You mean Britney Spears?" she asks amused.

"You think I have time to keep track? Especially when I'm making a paper jack-o-lantern at ten o'clock at night? Plus, I'm trying to get this done before your mother comes in and let's me have it."

"Your secret's safe with me, Luke"

"Thank you. Now, did you need something earlier?" He asks, pulling out a stapler to attach orange streamers to the lopsided pumpkin head.

"Yes. Sort of. I was wondering… or I think I remember someone mentioning that tomorrow's Jess' birthday?"

"Yeah, it is. Not that he would ever want anyone knowing. I only know 'cause I was there in the hospital the day he was born. I held him while Liz somehow made it past four nurses to smoke a cigarette.

Rory furrows her eyebrows. Jess had alluded to his complicated life in New York, but she always felt uneasy learning about a piece of his past. She didn't like the idea of him hurting. It made her stomach turn. She preferred imagining him roaming the city, hitting record stores, reading Vonnegut at Washington Square Park

"Did... I mean do you have any plans for him? Like a party?" she blurts out, flustered.

"Naw, Jess isn't the type. I offered him the day off from the diner but he said no, which I found odd. I think birthdays bring back bad memories for him, so I find it best just to leave it alone. I suppose the best thing I could give him is the apartment to himself since I'll be at that All Hallows' Eve thing in the square, anyways."

"Sounds like Jess." She pauses and looks at the counter then back at Luke. "Thanks, Luke" Rory remarks as she turns to go find her mother outside and quickly escape the conversation before any questions might arise

"Hey Rory?

"Yeah?"

"He's lucky to have you… er Jess. He's been through a lot this year and really every year with that mom of his. I'm not sure exactly what's going on with the two of you, but I'm glad.

Rory opens her mouth, but before she can respond, Lorelai comes back inside the diner.

"I cannot believe Michel. I ask him to work late this one time and he set up a sleeping bag behind the desk to get beauty rest between customers. That was Laura from the night staff, I am firing that little frenchman first thing in the morning." She looks at Luke and back at Rory puzzled.

"Are those Halloween decorations?!" Lorelai asks sardonically.

"Oh geez, I'm closing up you two. Scram." Luke walks around to the front of the counter and begins to motion for the two women to leave.

"Not so fast mister, I know what I saw!" Lorelai resists but is eventually forced out of the diner with a click of the lock and slap of the closed sign

"How rude," the elder woman pouts. They begin to walk back to the jeep in silence. "Hey, why don't we go to the All Hallows' Eve Festival tomorrow? I'll invite Sookie and you can ask Lane and we can have a contest to see who is able to stick the most Jolly Ranchers on Kirk's costume by the end of the night, huh? Sound good

"Sure." Rory replies a little dazed. Her conversation with Luke had spurred so many thoughts. Why didn't Jess care about birthdays? Was it deeper than his anti-establishment attitude about most things? And what did Luke mean? Maybe he was more observant than she gave him credit for. Unless Jess mentioned something?

The drive home was silent, and Rory closed herself up for the night in her bedroom with A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Jess had convinced her several months ago that it was the only nature writing he could stand because it was like World War II with insects. She immersed herself in the beauty and violence of the book until she suddenly got an idea.

She pulled out the legal pad from her nightstand drawer and began to jot everything as to not forget it. She looked over at the red glow of her digital clock to discover it was 1:00 AM. Satisfied with her plan so far- but also nervous- she turned off the lamp and tried to get some sleep

Tomorrow was going to be interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

**Very, very, VERY sorry for taking so long to update. I made this chapter a bit longer to make up for it. The first four chapters have served to set up the story, and I promise the next chapters will be more eventful. Thank you for your kind words, follows, and patience!**

* * *

Chapter 4

At 7:20 AM, the youngest Lorelai found herself in a mental block, equipped with pen, paper, and halfway through her second french press. Sleeping had become futile once she began mentally pondering her plan for Jess' birthday. At around 6:00 AM, she abandoned all hope of sleep, changed out of her PJs, and set to work. She involuntarily beats her pen into her legal pad loudly with frustration until the sudden entrance of her mother.

"Is that you, Neil Peart?" Lorelai asks groggily, making her way to the coffee machine.

"Did I wake you?" Rory asks remorsefully, remembering her mother's dislike for early mornings.

"Oh, no. But the smell of coffee left me no choice but to come down and see why my favorite daughter decided to record her audition tape for Rush at this ungodly hour."

"That loud?"

"That loud," Lorelai says with a touch of bitterness while she dumps half the bag of coffee grounds into the machine.

"I'm sorry, mom. Just a little stressed this morning, I'll go into my room."

Lorelai plops down two Strawberry Poptarts in a napkin in front of the frazzled daughter. "Are you working on something for the _Franklin_? That Paris has got to get a hobby if she already has you waking up on a Saturday morning to finish an article."

"No, not the _Franklin_ , just something else...time sensitive," Rory adds the last part anxiously.

"Time sensitive, huh?"

"Yeah, you'll see. I'll tell you about it after it happens."

"Okay," Lorelai agrees quizzically.

"Okay," her daughter chirps and retreats into her room and closes the door behind her.

Lorelai takes a sip of her coffee alone at the table."That was weird," she mumbles to no one in particular.

With the change in scenery, Rory leans back in her desk chair to survey her bedroom in the hopes of finding _something_ to help complete the final part of the project she had undertaken. Her eyes fall on her bookshelf, then over the sleek covers of her collection in the early light from her window. Jess had once mentioned that he hated almost all poetry, except for Rilke and Emily Dickinson. She internally swooned to hear a female poet recognized for once, but played it off by teasing to recommend Jess as the Poet Laureate of Stars Hollow at the next town meeting.

" _You wouldn't dare," Jess said with a slightly open grin that he seemed to only reserve for when he was alone with her._

" _I would!" Rory laughed loudly, cheeks flushed._

" _Then I would have to take revenge!" he joked in return, his voice reaching that high, strained register she recognized._

" _Would you fake my murder in front of Doose's? Banish me from your life forever?"_

" _Who said anything about faking your murder?" He pauses. "And banishing you from my life forever? Impossible."_

 _At the same time, he had brushed the knuckles of his right hand against her knee. Blood rushed to her face and his touch sent chills up her thigh. They had been driving around for hours instead of tutoring back at Luke's. Rory convinced herself it had been an accident. They both knew it wasn't._

Inspired by the books on her shelves and the discussions she had shared with Jess, she neatly prints the finishing touches on his present. She slips on her denim jacket and shoes and quietly exits the Gilmore residence with her mom upstairs in the shower. The late October air bites at her face and ears. She loved this time of year.

It takes her nearly an hour to put all the parts of her plan into place, which requires walking all across town as unnoticed as possible. Once she finishes, she beelines for Luke's.

From a distance, she could tell Luke's is moderately busy without the usual early morning weekday crowd. Upon her entry, she notices about ten customers, Cesar filling coffee cups, and with Luke nowhere in sight. This was her chance. Without further hesitation, she darts for the stairs to Luke's apartment. Slipping the envelope out of her jacket, she quickly tapes it to the glass of the door. She pauses. _What if no one notices it's here?_ Against her usually cautious nature, she roughly knocks on the door and runs as fast as she can downstairs. A yelp emerges from her lips as she sprints out of the diner. She doesn't stop running until she reaches the Kim's. In front of the well-kept lawn, Rory begins to hunch over with laughter. _Had she really just done that?_

This called to mind the numerous times Jess had made her do things that surprised her. Being around him encouraged her to give her opinion freely in ways she didn't at school, or with Dean, or even with her mom. He made her want to be unafraid, not for him, but for herself. She read books that he had recommended, ones that pushed boundaries and challenged her thoughts on sexuality, politics, and religion.

" _Hello?"_

" _I finished the Pynchon," Rory said shyly into the receiver of the phone._

" _And what did you think?"_

" _That war is bad. Love is weird. And that there's no way this did not inspire The Big Lebowski."_

" _What can I say, love makes people do weird things. Drugs, too," Jess says nonchalantly. His first observation had caught Rory off-guard. Since when did Jess have thoughts on love?_

Patty's early morning cardio class approaching snaps Rory out of her thoughts. In order to avoid being accused of trespassing by Mrs. Kim, Rory briskly walks in the direction of home.

She arrives home to find her mother has already left for work with a note on the counter to meet at Luke's before the All Hallows' Eve Festival at six o'clock. Waiting on two waffles in the toaster, she mindlessly flips through a magazine Lorelai had left open on the kitchen table. She nearly knocks her coffee cup over at the sound of the phone ringing.

She slowly walks over, assuming it might be Sookie calling to let Lorelai know she is running late.

"Hello?"

"Hey," his voice comes through the phone. Deep, raspy, Jess.

"Hi," Rory replies, mentally reminding herself to _play it cool_ in spite of her escalating heart rate and shaky hands.

"Did I wake you?" he asks innocently

"Oh, no. I've been up for a while. It is a little early for you to call, I mean, before 11 AM," she adds quickly.

"Are you claiming to know my sleeping habits?"

"No, just basing it off of my observations."

"You watch me?"

"Like a hawk," she quips back, surprising herself with her own boldness.

"Well, Ms. Gilmore. Now I know to linger more while I'm getting dressed in the morning," Jess notes suggestively.

"Jess," she says

"Rory."

"So, you called?"

"Yes. I called. I was actually hoping you could help me out with something."

"Yeah?" Rory asks, anticipating what he says next.

"You see, a crazy person banged on my door at 7 AM this morning."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, and that's not even the strangest part," Jess says, testing her.

"Hm?"

"They left an envelope taped to the door addressed to me. Some kind of scavenger hunt." Jess pauses for Rory to respond.

"Well, what a bizarre morning you're having. This is the first I'm hearing of it." Rory smiles and doesn't try to hide her amusement this time.

"Yeah, and the craziest thing is that it's a _birthday_ scavenger hunt. And I'm wondering how in the world this person knows that today is my birthday."

"Today's your birthday?" Rory has to cover her mouth from laughing out loud at her own absurdity, "Happy Birthday, Jess!"

"Rory," he says again, partly pleading and partly out of annoyance.

"If I'm not mistaken, it sounds like you have a busy day ahead of you, mister. I should let you go!"

Silence falls between the two for a several moments.

"Jess, are you there?"

"Yeah."

"Everything okay?"

"Just trying to figure out this first riddle." She can tell he's rearranging the phone and hears some papers shuffle. " _A place, where like Virginia Woolf, you made your own Waves…"_

A huge smile spreads across her lips. He's going along with it.

"See you later, Jess!" Rory says with renewed enthusiasm and nervousness.

"Unless I get lost," he replies dryly.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **I didn't take 8,000 years to update this time! Also, I'm working off of Google Docs, so I apologize for any typos and formatting issues in this or previous chapters that I may have missed.**

* * *

 _This woman is insane_ Jess thinks to himself, seated on his bed. He couldn't believe that he was going to do all this for Rory, and in doing so, acknowledge a day he usually did his best to ignore.

It was a mixture of honest curiosity and desire to figure what _they_ were that led Jess down the stairs to the diner during breakfast rush to announce he was taking the day off.

Luke tightens his grip on the counter in front of him, preparing to yell at his nephew when he suddenly remembers what day it is.

"Oh, er… sure, Jess. Take the day off."

"Thanks, Luke," he says earnestly, looking down at the floor, then back up at his uncle.

"Did you end up making plans, then? For your uh, you know," Luke verbally tiptoes around Jess, unsure if using the word _birthday_ was allowed.

"Nope," he says, technically not a lie. He did not make these plans. Yet, here he was, about to roam around town like a maniac.

To escape further questioning, Jess quickly ducks out the door and pauses for a moment on the sidewalk to take the piece of paper out of his jean pocket.

* * *

" _Hi Jess,_

 _Today is your birthday. Don't ask me how I know, I just do. My sources tell me it's something that is not common knowledge, actually a pretty well-kept secret , so I attempted to be as discreet as possible. I respect your reasons for not sharing this part of you. I do. But I also want you to know that you matter. Your birth matters- to me, to Luke, to others. And in order to acknowledge the day Jess Mariano graced us with his presence here on earth, I've compiled a bit of a "hunt," if you will. If you find yourself lost or unsure, just try and remember. I'll be seeing you, Dodger._

 _Clue #1_

 _A place, where like Virginia Woolf, you made your own Waves…"_

* * *

Jess lets out a breathy laugh after his second read of the absurd, kind gesture. He knew within seconds where this first riddle was leading him. But, if he knew Rory at all, the hunt would become incredibly complex in subsequent clues. She was just getting started.

It was uncharacteristically cold today, even for the northeast. While he was wearing a dark grey knit sweater, he immediately began to regret not grabbing a jacket on his way leaves were already orange, red, and brown. He passed the gazebo where Patty was putting tiny girls dressed as pumpkins through bootcamp. Taylor was arguing with the strange troubadour guy about playing "festive" songs instead of his usual arrangement.

"Seriously _?"_ Jess says out loud in the direction of the slow motion train wreck of an event. He gets chills. Sometimes he surprised himself by how much he sounded like Luke.

Aware of Rory's love for Woolf and that he had once divulged the fact that Luke pushed him in the pond by Stars Hollow High, he headed directly for the bridge. _His bridge? Theirs?_ Before the night of the car accident, they had spent several evenings reading there together. Then things got messed up. Then they kissed. Then Rory and Dean broke up over him. _And, now?_ Jess still didn't quite know.

He was nearing the bridge, now, and strained his eyes to locate anything resembling a clue, or present, or whatever it was he was looking for. The sun made the foliage in the pond golden. It was literally glistening. For some reason a Joni Mitchell song Rory tried to convince him to like begins to loop in his head. " _She is not some sappy chick, Jess_!" He smiled a bit. It all felt a little surreal.

"Now, where is that clue, Rory?" Jess hums to himself. He looks up and down the length of the entire bridge, and still, nothing. _What in the world? Had he gotten too cocky and come to the wrong place?_

Jess carefully walks back to the center of the bridge where he remembers finding himself with Rory most often. He sits, and just like the nights they spent here, dangles his legs over the edge and looks down at the glittering pond. He lights a cigarette. _Maybe it sparkles from all the crap students dump here._

Several minutes later, he remembers his mission. Carefully feeling around the underside of the bridge, he thinks to himself _Would she…?_ He gets an affirmative answer as his ring and middle finger graze smooth paper and he picks at the scotch tape holding it in place.

Jess feels a thrill, something he would never admit, as he opens up the folded paper.

" _You found it! And more surprisingly, this means that you're going along with this lame scavenger hunt. Trust me, the end prize is worth the trouble._

 _On my first Halloween when my Mom and I moved into the shed behind the Independence Inn, we didn't have any money. She cut a hole in her own pillowcase, drew black spots on it, and dressed me as a "dalmatian." She used the spotted pillowcase that night until she could get a new one the next day."_

Jess stops reading for a moment and smirks. He imagines a little Rory walking _crawling?_ around in the makeshift costume and feels both amused and a little sad. _She comes off like the town princess, but maybe she gets it._

Below the snapshot from her childhood, the note continued:

* * *

" _Clue #2_

 _When the law break in_

 _How ya gonna go?_

 _Shot down on the pavement_

 _Or waiting on death row?_ "

* * *

Jess turned the note over and scanned for more. _That was it? Sure, easy, it was a Clash song:_ " _Guns of Brixton." He had made Rory decipher the lyrics, once, instead of writing an essay on the ramifications of some war. Or had it been Shakespeare? He was too busy flirting with her to care._

Beyond this moment they had shared, Jess had absolutely no clue where he was headed. _The table they had been sitting at that night? I think the table layout at the diner has changed since then...it's worth a shot..._

He looks down briefly at his watch: 12:54 PM. _Damn, how long was I sitting there?_ Jess exits the wooded area of the bridge and renters the town center. This time, he observes, Kirk is dangling sideways from a lamp post dressed in all black. The town sheriff, _he should know her name by now_ , was demanding that Kirk come down immediately.

"No, I am not that tightrope walker from the documentary! I'm a bat! Taylor asked for a Halloween costume, and I delivered. Sometimes you've gotta risk it for your art, chief!" Kirk shrieks, at this point upside down.

Horrified and intrigued, Jess eyes the sheriff as she calls in for back up from Woodbridge. Taking a deep breath and ducking his head, he quickly slips into the diner and goes directly to the table he remembered sitting at with Rory that night.

Unfortunately, Babette and Patty were seated there, halfway through turkey burgers and iced teas. They immediately stop their conversation and look suspiciously up at Jess.

"Can we help you, sweetie?" Patty asks. While Patty had always held Jess with curiosity and even a little compassion, Babette eyes him darkly.

"Yeah, looking for more gnomes to manhandle? Rest in Peace, Pierpont," Babette mutters the last part solemnly and forms the sign of the cross.

"Oh, sheesh," Jess exclaims and shifts his weight over to his other leg.

"Well, that's not gonna get you far, sweetheart. Try a smile once in awhile," Patty winks.

Jess exhales loudly. "Would you mind if I checked under the table… I think I left something there…" he trails off.

Both of the women look at eachother then back at Jess.

"Huh?" Babette squawks.

Attempting to form his version of a polite smile, Jess repeats, "The table. Can I look under your table really quick?"

Both ladies wordlessly rise out of their seats and step back from their table, perplexed.

Jess quickly ducks under the table, _boy do I look stupid_ , and looks around for an identical piece of paper to the ones in his pocket. No luck.

Just as he's coming out from under the table, Luke emerges from the kitchen attempting to carry four plates at the same time.

"Jess, what the…"

"It's nothing, thought I forgot something."

"You forgot something, that's for sure," Babette hoots loud enough for most of the diner to turn around.

Blushing, Jess heads for the diner door. Out on the street, he's stopped by the sound of a familiar voice

"It's not in there."

Jess turns around to see Cesar, sweeping the sidewalk outside of the diner. Jess and Cesar got along surprisingly well, although the latter's cheery disposition could be a bit too much to handle.

"Excuse me?" Jess asks, not angrily, just confused.

"The thing you're looking for. The stuff that girl was hiding all morning, the one who knocked on the door upstairs and ran out of the diner! I saw her crisscross the town square at least five times, but she never stopped in the diner."

"How did you…?"

"I have a sense for these things, kid," Cesar says with a grin.

"Oh," Jess says, relieved. "Thanks."

He resumes walking with purpose back towards the bookstore, just in case Rory's watching. He internally acknowledges his paranoia, but refuses to give her the satisfaction of knowing that he was stuck. And hated it. And secretly loved it.

 _Where are you sending me, Gilmore?_


End file.
